This 9th day wasn't scheduled! But we'd enjoyed our ride so much, the weather was perfect and our fitness vastly improved - so it seemed a shame not to complete the Rhine Route. Gary and James joined us for this final leg (they didn't volunteer to carry our panniers, we noted) and we set off early in a fruitless attempt to avoid the heat. A few more hills than we anticipated, but the first 45km (the goal we'd set before stopping for a coffee break) were lovely, rolling fields and vineyards. And even, finally, fresh cherries from a farm!
Lunch was sandwiches and cherries by the river, watching people and boats float by, drawn by the Rhine's fierce rush to the sea. We jumped in cautiously, staying close to the bank. Even there the current was unnerving, and after a few vain attempts to fight it we got back on our bikes for the final haul to Basel.
At pretty Rheinfelden we stopped for ice creams while Gary cycled across the bridge into Germany, and then we all stood watching the young people of both riverside nations jumping from the bridge into the river, where the current took them several hundred meters downstream to the shore. Fun!
And so to Basel, and the train home in a summer thunderstorm. It was a big day, but we were happy!
121km, 2195 calories, 7 hours
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